Drop-hammer



(No Mdel.) 5 sheets-sheet 1.

J.A. H0RT0N. DROP HAMMER.

' No. 543,302. Patented July 23.1895.

Fcl 'b3 E* FEZ'L@ l 3. ...u e e .h .S\ w e nv h s 5 WR. E T M. VRAM.k 01A H H .l A R .D TU MW d o M 0 ww No. 543,302. :Patented July 2s, 1895.

J la* 5 Smeets-Sheet 4.

'(No Model.) l v f J. A. HORTON.

DROP HAMMER.

wlw-m1155555: y l f 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 J.A.H0RT0N. DROP HAMMER.

(No Model.)

No. 543,302. PatentedJuly 23,' 189.5.`

INVENTUR'.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

JAMES A. HORTON, OF READING, ASSIGNOR TO THE MOSSBERG MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, OF ATTLEBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS.

DROP-HAMMER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters atent No. 543,302, dated July 23, 1895.

Application filed January 28, 1895-. Serial No. 536,457. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, JAMES A. HoRroN, of Reading, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Drop-Hammers,

. of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention has for its-object to provide improved means for operating a drop-hammer in such manner that while the hammer is per- 1o mitted tofall freely by gravitation, downward movement of the hammer after its rebound or at any point during its ascent will be prevented under ordinary conditions.

The invention also has for its object topro- I 5 vide safety devices to prevent liability of injury to the work and to the operators hands should the hammer be released under extraordinary conditions.

To these ends the invention consists in the 2o improvements whichl will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the drawings accompanying this specilica-tion and forming a part thereof, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a hammer embodying myimprovements. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation of the same looking from the right of Fig. l. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2a 2"L of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a side elevation looking from the left of Fig. 1.

3o Fig. 4. represents a section on line 4 4 of-Fig.

2 looking downwardly.. Fig. 5 represents a rear elevation of the lower portion of the machine. Fig. 6 represents a partial longitudinal central section of the machine. Figs. 7

and S represent detail views hereinafter de.

scribed. Figs. 9,10, 11, l2, and 13 represent details of the preferred form of clutch mechanism employed. Fig. 14 represents a modiiied form of clutch. Fig. 15 represents a side 4o view of va moditied construction of'the machine.

The same letters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, a, represents a supportingframe, which is provided with suitable vertical guides in which the slug or hammer b is adapted to move. Saidhammer is supported by a flexible strap b', one end of which is affixed to a pulley b2 on a shaft b3, which is 5o journaled in bearings in the frame a.

b7 represents a crank-shaft which is jour-y naled in bearings in the supporting-frame and has a crank b(i affixed to onev of its ends. Said crank is provided with an adjustable wristpin L60, which is connectedwith a flexible strap b5, one end of which .is affixed to a pulley b4, which is affixedto the shaft b3. The strap b is preferably connected with the wrist-pin Z960, through an adjustable connecting device or coupling b, the Yconstruction of which is 6o clearly shown in Fig. 2.

, b9 represents a driving gear or wheel which is loosely mounted upon the crank-shaft o7, and is connected with said shaft by a clutch which is constructed to impart rotary movement from the driving-wheel to the shaft when the wheel is rotated forward or in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, and to prevent backward rotation of said shaft, the clutch being also of such construction that it 7o will permit the shaft to rotate forward more rapidly than the driving-wheel, so that while said wheel is constantly rotated by suitable connection with a prime motor the shaft,when engaged with the wheel, may be given an accelerated forward movement by the weight of the hammer, as hereinafter described, without disturbing the operative connection between the driving-wheel andthe shaft.

The preferred construction of the clutch is So shown in Figs. 9, 10, l'l, and 12, said construction comprising a collar c affixed to the crankshaft and provided on its perimeter with aseries of faces which are somewhat eccentric to. the axis of the shaft, a series of loose fr ictionrolls c2 interposed between the collar c, and an internal annular face constituting theinner surface of a flange 68 on the hub of the gear b9,.and a series of fingers or projections c4, interposed between said rolls and formed 9o on a collar c3, which vhas a limited independent rotary movement upon the shaft and is normally pressed by a spring 030, Fig. 12, in the direction required to cause the fingers c4 to force the rolls c2 into the narrower portions 95 of the irregular space between the collar c vand the ange bs, thus causing the rolls to bind upon the said flange and collar, as shown l in Fig.`11. A detent c6 is pivoted at cI to the frame of the machine and is normally in kpo- 10o sition, as shown in Figs. 3 and 10, to bear upon the shoulder c5 on the collar c3, and

. weight, will require.

thus hold said collar back from the position into which it is normally forced by the spring C30, so that the rolis c2 are normally loose between the collar c and flange bs, as shown in Fig. 10. A detent ear or lug ci, formed on a collar cs2, afixed rigidly to the crank-shaft 57, is located in close proximity to the projection c5, and the stop c6 is arranged to co-operate with said lug or projection 031 and lock or arrest the shaft 197 at the same time that the clutch is drawn out of connection with said shaft, so that the shaft is released from the driving-wheel and at the same time stopped by the detent c6.

The clutch above described is of substantially the construction shown in Letters Patent No. 260,394, granted to me July 41882.

The stop c6 is arranged to arrest the rotation of the shaft, as above described, -when the crank h6 is substantially at the lowest point in its movement, as shown in Fig. A2, the wrist-pin being then carried slightly beyond the center of the shaft 197, so that a line drawn from said wrist-pin to the periphery of the pulley b4 will be slightly at the left of the center of said shaft, as viewed in Fig. 2, the straps, pulleys, and crank being relatively arranged, so that when the crank occupies this position the hammer is raised. The described position of the crank relatively to the shaft enables the detent cG to support the weight of the hammer with the minimum degree of resistance, the pull due to the weight `of the hammer being .exerted nearly lengthwise of the crank h6, so that only the minimum strain is exerted upon the detent c6 and the lug or projection 031 on the crank-shaft, the position of the crank being such, however, that the weight of the hammer will instantly cause it to descend and rotate the crank in the direci tion indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2 when the stop c6 is displaced.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen that l tion indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2a. It will i also be seen that if the rotary movement of the crank-shaft and its collar c is more rapid than the movement, of the driving-wheel, which is continuously rotated in the sarne direction, the clutch-rollers will be loosened so that the shaft can have an accelerated forward rotation, and can rotate asmuch faster vthan the driving-wheel as the rate of downward movement of the hammer, due to its It will be seen, therefore, thatwhen the detent c6 is displaced and the crankshaft released, the clutch, although released and made operative to connect the driving-wheel and the shaft, will not in fact do so, owing to the fact that the weight of the hammer causes it to descend and impart an accelerated forward rotation to the crankshaft, the latter being 4thus rotated much more rapidly than the driving-wheel, until the Yerator.

hammer reaches the lower end of itsmovcment. The parts are arranged so that the crank is raised to the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 2 when the hammer reaches the lower endof its movement,so that during the remainder of a complete rotation of the shaft back to the full-line position shown in Fig. 2, the pull caused by the weight of the hammer on the shaft will be in a direction opposite to that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2f, and will therefore engage the clutch-rolls with the collar c and the iiange of the driving-wheel, so that the driving-wheel is operatively engaged with the crankshaft and positively rotates the latter from the dotted-line position to the full-line position shown in Fig. 2, thus causing the strap b5 to unwind from the pulley 54 and raise the hammer. It will also be seen that the described positive action of the clutch enables the crank'shaft to arrest the hammer after its rebound from the hammerbed, thus preventing it from again striking the work after its rebound. When the crankshaft reaches ythe position shown in full lines .in Fig. 2, the shaft Ais arrested and the clutch made inoperative by the action of the detent c6, as already described.

The described action of the driving-wheel and clutch in arresting the hammer after its rebound is very advantageous in a machine of this class, said driving-wheel and clutch constituting a safety device preventing undesirable contact between the hammer and the work, and also sustaining the weight of the hammer during its upward movement. To guard, however, against an accident which might arise in case the driving-belt or other `power-transmitting means which operates the driving-wheel fails to operate properly and releases the driving-wheel, I provide an auX- .iliary safety device, which is preferably a ratchet Z930 affixed to the crank-shaft, anda pawl bS1 pivoted to the frame of the machine `and engaging said ratchet, said -pawl and .device whereby it may be conveniently displaced by the operator to release the crankshaft and clutch. Said operating device, as here shown, is a curved rod or handle cs, having a loop e9 constituting a handle which is in position to be conveniently moved by theop- Said loop ci is engaged with an arm d5, which is formed on a safety device hereinafter described that is normally located under the hammer and prevents contact between the hammer and the hammer-bed in case the hammer descends at the wrong time, the said safety device and its arm preventing the handle or loop c9 from being raised to release the shaft and clutch when the safety device is in itsnormalposition. Thesaidsafetydevice, as here shown, comprises two vertical standards d d, which are affixed to horizontal rods d d fitted to slide in guides on the frame of the machine. To the rods d d is affixed a cross- IOC' bar d?, upon one end of which is formed an arm d5, having a forwardly-projecting handle d4, arranged to be grasped by the operator for the purpose of displacing the safety device or pushing it back out of the path of the hammer. The arm d5 above mentioned isaftixed to one of the standards d and is moved back with said standards out of the loop or handle shaft 197 and is arranged to be displaced by aprojection d on said crank-shaft at a given point in the rotation of the latter, the arrangep mentbeing such that said projection displaces the arm d14 and detent dm, and thus releases the safetyrdevice during the upward movement of the hammer, so that the safety de-A vice is automatically restored to place to prevent the descent of the hammer upon the hammer-bed, the safety device being impelled forward toits operative position after it is released by a spring d6, located upon one of the rods el and bearing against a collar d? interposed between the spring and the cross-bar d2.

The loop. or handle o9 is connected at its lower portion with a studvc90 on an arm 091, which is pivoted to the frame of the machine and has a recess c92 in its upper edge which co-operates with the arm d5 in permitting the upward movement of the handle or loop o9 indicated in Fig. 8 when-the safety device is Vpushed. backwardly, said upward. movement permitting the detent to swing downwardly on its pivot` c7 out of engagement with thev upon the crankshaft is released and the ham-l mer immediately drops, the crank-shaft being carried by the downward motion of the hammer to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. After this the clutch continues the rotation of the crank-shaft from vthe said dotted-line position to the full-line position shown in Fig. 2, at which point the detent acts to arrest the rotation of the shaft, the hammer being again supported in a raised position. v

I do not limit myself to'the two straps han b5 and the corresponding pulleysfas the con` nection between the hammer and the crankshaft.

In Fig. 15, I have shown a modification in which the hammer issuppendedbya single- 7o strap b5 passing overa single pulley 551, which is journaled in fixed bearings on the supporting-frame of the machine and under a movable pulley 652 to a fixed support at Z953 on the frame of the machine. The pulley Z252 is con` nected by a rod or link b54 with the crank b5.

In this modification only one strap is employed, the pulley 652 being raised and lowered by the rotation of the crank-shaft, and holding a portion ofthe strap in the form of 8o a bight or loop, which varies in depth with the position of the crank-shaft, and thus raises and lowers the hammer. i

I may employ any suitably constructed clutch adapted to connect the crank-shaft with the driving-wheel in such manner as to prevent backward movement of the crankshaft and permit an .accelerated forward movement of the same, my invention not being limited to the clutch mechanism above 9c tial rotation of the sleeve 1955 ensues, vwhich removes it from engagement with the ange of [o5 the disk Z255. When the projection Z955 is released by the detent, it is moved into engagement with said ilange by springs suitably ar` ranged within the said sleeve.

The clutch device shown in Fig. 14 was not r xo invented by me.

I claimf 1. The combination, in a machine of the character described, of the followingelements, namely, first, a driving wheelg secondly, a r 15 drop hammer; thirdly, intermediate wheeland hammer connectingy mechanism comprisa shaft on whi'chthe driving-wheel is loosely mounted, a Wheel and shaft connecting clutch organized to prevent a backward rotation of 12o the shaft and to permit a free or accelerated forward rotation` thereof, a crank affixedV to said shaft, and a flexible connection between thecrank and hammer, said mechanism positively connecting the driving-wheelwith the hammer to raise the latter during a part of a rotation of the crank-shaft and releasing the hammer during the remainder of said rotation; and -fourthly, a stop which arrests the crank-shaft and makes the clutch inoperative 13o when the crank is in its depressed position and the ham mer raised.

2. The combination of a crank-shaft having a detent or projection, a driving-wheel or gear mounted loosely on said shaft, a clutch comprising members affixed respectively to the said wheel and shaft and organized substantially as described to prevent backward rotation of the shaft and to permit the shaft to rotate forward more rapidly than the wheel, a stop arranged to simultaneously engage the detent or projection on the shaft and a projecting portion of the clutch Vand thereby make the clutch inoperative and lock the shaft when the crank thereof is in its lowest position, a drop-hammer movable in suitable guides, a shaft having a pulley connected by a strap with the hammer, the arrangement being suchthat the hammer is held in its raised position by the said detent through the crank-shaft, straps, and pulleys when the crank-shaft is locked by the detent, and when the detentis displaced the crank-shaft, clutch, and hammer are released, the clutch permitting the crank-shaft to rotate more rapidly than the driving-wheel while the hammer is descending and then acting to automatically arrest the hammer at the end of its rebound and to canse the rotation of the .crank-shaft to its hammer-raising position.

. to rotate forward more rapidly than the wheel,

a stop arranged `to simultaneously engage the detent or projection on the shaft and a pro* jecting portion of the clutch and thereby1 make the clutch inoperative and lock the shaft when the crank thereof is in its lowest position, a drop-hammer movable in suitable guides, a shaft having a pulley connected by a strap with the crank and another pulley connected by a strap with the hammer, the

clutch and driving-wheel acting as a safety' device to prevent backward movement of the crank-shaft and downward movement of the hammer when the latter. is being raised by the rotation of the crank-shaft, and an auxiliary safety device such as a ratchet affixed to the crank-shaft and a dog on the supporting frame whereby backward rotation of the crank-shaft and downward movement of the hammer are prevented in case of accident to the driving-wheel or clutch.

4. The combination, in a machine of the character described, of the following elements: namely, first, a driving-wheel; secondly, a drop-hammer; thirdly, intermediate wheel and hammer connecting mechanism comprising a shaft on which the drivingwheel is -loosely mounted, a wheel and shaft connecting clutch organized to prevent a backward rotation of the shaft and to permit a free or accelerated forward rotation thereof, a crank affixed to said shaft, an intermediate shaft having a larger pulley connected by a strap with the hammer Yand a smaller pulley connected by a strap with the crank; and fourthly, a stop whereby the crank-shaft is arrested and the clutch -made inoperative when the crank is in its depressed position and the hammer is raised.

5. The combination of a crank-shaft having a detent or projection, a driving-wheel loosely mounted on the shaft, a clutch composed of a member affixed to the shaft, a member affixed tothe wheel, and an intermediate member which normallyco-operates with the other members in preventing backward rotation of the shaft and is provided with an external operating device, said clutch being organized to permit an independent forward rotation of the shaft, a droplhammer movable in snitable guides, two connected pulleys, straps connecting said pulleys respectively with the hammer and with the crank, and a stop adapted to co-operate simultaneously with the said operating device and withthe detent on the crank-shaft when the hammer is raised.

6. The combination of a drop-hammelga driving-wheel, a crank-shaft, a clutch com prising melnbers Vaffixed respectively to the said wheel and shaft and organized substantially as described to .prevent backward rotation of the shaft and .to permit the shaft to rotate forward more rapidly than the wheel, connections such as a Acrank and a iieXible strap between the crank-shaft `and hammer,

.said connections, clutchand crank-shaft acting to raise the hammer -d-uringa part of the rotation of said shaft and to release the ham- `mer during another part of `said rotation, a

stop which automatically arrests the crankshaft and makes the clutch inoperative when the hammer is raised, and a movable safety device which is normallyinterposed between the hammer and its bed -to prevent the descent of the hammer upon the bed.

connections such as a crank and a flexible strap between the crank-shaft and hammer said connections, clutch, and crank-shaft acting to raise the hammer during a part of the rotation of said shaft and to release the hammer during another part of said rotation, a stop which automatically arrests the crankshaft and makes the clutch inoperative when the hammer is raised, a movable safety device which is normally interposed between the hammer and its bed to prevent the descent of the hammer upon the bed, and a detent which holds said guard out of the path of the hammer when the guard is displaced by the operator.

8. The combination of a drop-hammer, a driving-wheel, a crank-shaft, a clutch com- IOO IIO

prising members affixed respectively to the said wheel and shaft and organized substantially as described to prevent backwardY rotation of the shaft and to permit the shaft to` rotate forward more rapidly than the wheel, connections such as acrank and a iiexible strap between the crank-shaft and hammer said connections,-clutch,`and crank-shaft acting to raise the hammer during a part of the rotation of said shaft and to release the hammer during another part of said rotation, a' safety device which is normally interposed between the hammer and its bed, a stop adapted to arrest the crank-shaft and make the clutchv inoperative when the hammer is raised, and connections between said safety device and stop whereby the stop' is locked when the safety device is in its operative position. Y

9. The combination of a drop-hammer, a driving-wheel, a crank-shaft, a clutch comprising members affixed :respectively to the said wheel and shaft and organized substan-4 tially as described to prevent backward rotation vof the shaft and to permit the shaft to rotate forward more rapidly than the wheel, connections such as a crank and a iexible,

strap between the crank-shaft and hammer .said connections, clutch, and crank-shaft acting to raise the hammer during a part of the rotation of said shaft and to release thehammer during another part of said rotation, a

safety device which is normally interposed between the hammer and its bed, a `stop adapted to arrest the crank-shaft and make the clutch inoperative when the hammer is.

raised, connections between said safety device andstop whereby the stop is locked when the safety device is in its operative position, a detent which holds the safety device out of the path of the hammer when the safety device is displaced by the operator, and automatic means whereby the safety device is released and caused to lock the detent at a given point in thev rotation of the crank- Shaft.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses,l this 28d day of January, A. D. 1895.

JAMES A. HORTON.

Witnesses:

FRANK MossBnRG,

A. D. HARRISON, 

